


Spill the Ink, Let Her Sink

by fallentale



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: BATIM, Boris - Freeform, F/F, Henry - Freeform, Horror, Ink, Lesbian, OCs - Freeform, Original Characters - Freeform, Spoilers, alice angel - Freeform, bendy - Freeform, bendy and the ink machine - Freeform, bendy and the ink machine oc, bendy the dancing demon - Freeform, boris the wolf, cartoons, joey drew - Freeform, marina mermaid - Freeform, this is pretty gay, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 14:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10766100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallentale/pseuds/fallentale
Summary: Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! We gladly present to you our newest character to Bendy the Dancing Demon's family:Marina Mermaid!Journey through the Joey Drew Studios with Alice Angel (her adorable lover), Boris the Wolf, and-and...Bendy..? Is that you?





	Spill the Ink, Let Her Sink

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys, gals, and nonbinary pals! Guess who started obsessing over a new game? :D  
> I'm in love with BATIM so much, I even made a heckin' OC for it named Marina Mermaid. That's right, she's GAY with ALICE ANGEL. SORRY LADS I DON'T MAKE THE RULES.  
> But I thought it would be interesting to write what happened before the events of the game and I wanted to write Marina too, so here you go!  
> Now of course, Marina isn't canon obviously. I just thought it would be fun to throw her into the thick of things hehe. Plus, we still don't know a lot with the given chapters so far, so this was just me interpreting things while I'm in Denial TM.  
> As always, comments, kudos, and bookmarks are appreciated.  
> Also, there's two music suggestions later on in the story. You might need to stop the second one a bit short because the scene after that wouldn't really make sense with the music haha.  
> Enjoy!

She pushed her around the studio, droplets of ink spilling out of the overflowing, glass tank. The remaining workers watched them giggle in mischief and glee, smiles, too, growing on their faces. The mermaid lifted a white hand to the angel’s soft face and she blushed in grey hues. She laughed joyfully and came to a halt as they arrived at the door.

She rolled her shoulders and fixed the halo above her head. “You’re too cute, Marina. I could’ve wrecked!”

“Ah, sorry, sorry!” apologized Marina, her tail wagging rapidly in the black, murky liquid. “I can’t help it…”

The angelic demon snorted and planted a kiss on Marina’s lips. Marina clutched her cheek in embarrassment and plunged her head into the ink.

The angel laughed and patted her on the back. “I’m only kidding, love. Nothing wrong with being cute."

Marina picked her head up, “blush” all across her face. “I’m not as cute as you though, Alice.”

“And how is that?”

“Because I must be dead if I’m seeing an angel.”

Alice burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. Marina covered her mouth as she chuckled at her cheesy pun. Alice wiped an inky tear away from her sliced pie-eyes and went over to the wooden door.

“You have to tell Bendy that one,” she commented.

“What? No! It’s embarrassing now that I think about it!” cried Marina.

Alice rolled her eyes jokingly and knocked three times on the door. As she waited for a reply on the other side, she stared at the plastic sign hanging on a white string. In black, bolded letters read, “Bendy’s Fantastic, Fabulous Prep Room.” Alice frowned at the unnecessary decoration, but it washed away into a goofy smile.

The door opened, revealing the infamous, little devil. He fixed his square bow tie and flashed his stunning smile with his perfectly straight teeth. He bowed deeply to Alice and Marina, but lost his gallant posture.

“M’ladies,” he greeted. He tried to hold back his silliness, but erupted into comical laughter.

Marina chuckled behind Alice as she turned the wheels of the cart into the room. Alice shut the door behind her and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

“What’s up with you today, Bendy?” she asked, a small smile curling across her painted lips.

Bendy glanced at the angel and smirked. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just excited for today’s rehearsal.” He exhaled deeply and threw himself onto his high director’s chair. He grabbed the powdered foundation and its puff. He elegantly dipped the fluffy applicator into the powder and applied it all over his white face, squeezing his eyes shut.

Marina idly cupped her hands into the ink and watched it spill back into her tank. “Has Joey told you anything about it?”

Bendy shook his head as he sat the powder puff down. “Nope. He hasn’t told me a ^%$& thing since last Monday.” His curse word was replaced with the sound of a horn. He pointed towards the case of candy cigarettes sitting on the coffee table in the corner. “Be an ‘angel’ and get that for me, will ya, Alice?”

Alice sighed and strutted over to the red and white container. She chucked it at Bendy, hitting him in the face. He snickered and plucked out the stick of candy. He placed it in his mouth and twirled it around in circular movements.

Marina looked at the candy cigarette, puzzled. “People are promoting kids to smoke with candy?”

Bendy withdrew the candy from his mouth. “First off, I ain’t a kid and second off, it’s just for jokes.” He stuck the candy back in his mouth. “It’s &^@* candy!”

“I think I’m going to disagree with not being a kid because you clearly are,” teased Alice. Bendy frowned in response.

“But seriously, Joey hasn’t told you _anything_ about this new episode?” asked Marina.

“No’m!” replied Bendy, harshly. “You don’t know how _bad_ I want to do this! It’s got the perfect script and everythin', but we haven’t put a single second into rehearsin' it!” He snapped his fingers together as he recalled something. “There’s a fancy word for wanting somethin’ real bad. I know you've said it before, Marina. What is it?”

“Desideratum?” suggested Marina.

“Yeah, that’s it! I’ve got, uh, a desideratum for wantin' to do this episode!”

Alice tucked a black strand of hair behind one of her horns. “Kind of odd, don’t you think?”

“Of course it is! Boris and I had it all planned out, too, but now Mr. I-Can’t-Remember-What-My-Own-Characters-Look-Like is flakin’ out on us,” snapped Bendy.

A few, black droplets crashed the oak floor, but Bendy was drowning in his own eglaf to notice it. Alice gazed at the ink as it swam its way into the cracks. She then stared at Bendy as the tip of his chin oozed with the ink like an icicle melting in the rising sun.

“You’re spilling, Bendy,” she reprimanded.

Bendy shook himself out of his worry and touched his chin. He groaned dramatically and wiped the ink on his leg. “*%&#. This always happens when @#$% hits the fan.” Another round of hilarious sound effects to cover up the swears.

Marina held onto her girlfriend’s hand and gazed at the door. “Have you heard from Boris yet either?”

Bendy shook his head and bit the bottom of his lip. “Nope. He’s probably busy, too. But the guy has more important stuff than whatever Joey’s doin’.”

Alice leaned her head on Marina’s shoulder. “Why not ask Henry? I’m sure he knows what’s going on.”

Marina and Bendy’s eyes widened in shock. The two cartoons exchanged nervous glances and stared at the ground.

Alice noticed the awkward pause in the conversation and perked her head up. “What, is something wrong?” 

“W-We thought you knew, love,” said Marina, rubbing Alice’s gloved hand. “Henry...he left a couple days ago.”

Alice’s jaw dropped. “Are you _serious?”_ She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Gee, no wonder he hasn’t been showing up. I should have paid more attention.”

“They said he left for the war, but rumor has it he was really gettin’ tired of Joey’s crap,” answered Bendy, solemnly.

Alice furrowed her brows in disappointment. “Aren’t we all?”

Despite her coldness, she felt her inky, cartoony heart crack slightly. Henry was the only man she appreciated in the studio. Yes, the crew before did get used to the sight of real-life cartoons walking around, but she believed Henry treated them the most humane; he would take Bendy out sometimes in “disguises,” always carried Marina’s reference sheet in case she needed a pair of legs instead of a tail, held clarinet duets with Boris even though he had no clue how to play, and gave sneak peeks of the next episodes to Alice first.

He was like their weird, human grandfather. Sure, he seemed unamused most of the time, but around the toons, he was warm and comfortable.

Alice released herself from nostalgia’s grip and returned to reality. Now wasn’t the time to be swimming in the past.

Bendy finished the rest of his candy cigarette. He wiped his hands together and skipped towards the door. “Welp, I don’t have all day to do nothin’, so I’m gonna go see where Boris is.” He swung open the door and winked at the toons. “You two be merry and gay now!”

Marina chuckled while Alice rolled her eyes. Bendy closed the door behind him, his whistling fading out.

Alice sighed and sat on her stomach. “I still can’t believe Henry’s gone. How did he not tell us?”

“He didn’t want a lot of people to know about it, but it’s hard not to keep it a secret when you’re the heart of the entire studio,” remarked Marina, gloomy.

Marina had a wonderful point; without Henry, the entire studio was just a shell of its former self. There was no soul, no emotion, and certainly no Henry.

Silence filled the air. Alice chewed on the inside of her cheek and then stared at her girlfriend. “Marina."

The mermaid looked up from her nails. “Hm?”

“Do you...do you think Joey’s changed?” asked Alice, suddenly.

Marina rose an eyebrow and chuckled uneasily. “That’s a bolt from the blue, love. Why do you ask?”

Alice shrugged and scratched her arm. “He just seems so involved with these...these rituals and he’s constantly _looking_ at us. It gives me the creeps.”

Marina tapped her fingers on her tank in rhythm to the cartoon’s opening song. “I’ve kinda noticed too, but don’t worry too much about it, Alice.” She laughed. “I mean, we are _living cartoons._ Of course we’re going to be eye candy.”

Alice joined in with the laughter, but her’s quickly died out.

“Yeah...eye candy.”

* * *

 

He extracted the black heart from the open ribcage, its beating now silent. He squinted at it and ran a finger through its dead veins. They were like valleys and mountains in a sublime, new world. He sat it in the surgical container beside him, along with the inky, smooth lungs. He snatched the tweezers and gently pushed one of the rib bones out.

X’s marked his eyes and his head was tilted to the right. His mouth still formed the horror he saw before he was taken into darkness, but couldn’t cry for help. He arms hung loose at his sides like a puppet with no more use. Ink dripped from his mouth and into the cracks on the floor below.

The bone made a sound similar to crunching pretzels in a bag. He cursed under his breath and pushed it back into its spot. Ink sputtered onto his hands and joined the puddle already forming beneath him. He sighed and pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. He threw off the plastic gloves and reached for another pair, until he froze by the sound of a voice.

“Joey, are ya here?”

Joey was paralyzed. He didn’t want _him_ finding out about this. He should have kept Sammy to babysit him so then _this_ could have been avoided.

The gloves fell from Joey’s grasp. Sweat dribbled down his temple as the cartoon strolled on in, oblivious to everything.

The toon stared at Joey and waved his hand, exhilarated. “Joey! When are we gonna get started on that new episode? I’m sure Boris-”

He stopped. His eyes fell upon the mutilated cartoon wolf on the operation table. He took a few, small steps back and kept his stare locked on the old man. His smile twitched slightly in fear.

“J-Joey...is that B-Boris?” he asked quietly, pointing a shaking finger at his friend. “What are ya doin’ t-to him?”

“He’s just sick, Bendy,” lied Joey, coldly. He wiped ink droplets off of his grey mustache and faced Bendy, the shadows covering his face. He loomed over the little devil ominously. “Go back to your room.”

“But what about the-”

“I said go _back.”_

Bendy froze and took a final glance at his friend strapped to the table. He rushed out of the room before the tears could spill.

He ran down the stairs and hid behind a wall. He covered his mouth and shook his head as tears and his own ink dripped onto the floor.

The X’s gave every detail. The broken rib bone explained all. The missing heart and lungs were sheer proof.

Boris, his best friend, was _dead._

And Joey...Joey Drew _lied to him!_

How? Why? Bendy and Joey were great friends. He was his creator, practically his own father!

And yet he had the audacity to _betray_ him. Him and Boris. Him and Alice. Him and Marina.

Him and _Henry._

Bendy’s left arm began to melt, reaching his foot. Shaking his head hysterically, he ran back to his room. The floor beneath him was smaller and his right eye’s vision blurred.

But did he care? No.

He had to warn everyone what happened, to protect them from the rising threat that was Joey.

Bendy reached the end of the hallway and bursted into his room. Marina and Alice looked up from their reading of magazines and stared in shock. Alice hurried over to Bendy and held his good hand.

“Bendy, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked, anxiously.

“B-Boris…” whispered Bendy, his voice somewhat demented. “He’s **dead.”**

Marina shrunk into the the back of her tank, disturbed by Bendy’s voice change. “W-What happened?”

 **“Joey** **_lied_ ** **to me!”** screamed Bendy. He threw his head into his hands and sobbed ferociously. As his wails grew louder, his grew taller.

Alice took several steps back and snatched Marina’s cart. She tried her best to make herself look intimidating to Bendy to cool him down, but it wasn’t working. Her authoritative stance _always_ worked when Bendy was acting like a spoiled brat, but this was beyond that. He was truly enraged and a simple “Stop that!” wasn’t going to change anything.

 **“He killed Boris and-and is gonna kill us!”** cried Bendy. He glared at Marina and Alice, his right eye now completely covered in melting ink and almost his left. **“He’s a traitor! He killed my best friend!”**

“Bendy, please! Don’t do anything reckless!” commanded Marina.

_(Play music now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es_DCs2Ixj8 &index=4&list=PLNEllKkgkLolSFDYtwKeuEd6hWLA-U4fG) _

Bendy staggered into the room, leaving the door wide open for escape. He coughed up a waterfall of ink on the floor, clutching his now large and wide chest. Alice clenched her teeth and shoved Marina out. Bendy roared in fury and smashed the wooden walls, but Alice didn’t look back to see the damage. Marina held onto the edges of her tank, expression paralyzed with fear as Alice pushed her cart down the hallway.

 **“I’LL KILL YOU, JOEY!”** thundered Bendy.

Marina covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. This wasn’t normal. _Nothing_ was normal about this, and the toons themselves were already past normal.

But this? This was beyond strange.

This was _terrifying._

Alice reached a door at the end of the hallway and harshly opened it. She wheeled in Marina and closed the door with her foot. Now in the music department, she knew where she was going.

“Alice, what the hell _was_ that?” shrieked Marina.

“No clue,” breathed Alice. “All I know is that Boris is apparently dead and Joey lied to Bendy.” She was too overwhelmed with the recent events, she didn’t have the time to cry or get angry.

All she needed to do was keep her and Marina safe from...Bendy.

She wished she never had to think of that.

The entrance way shook and above, the two cartoons heard Bendy’s ragged, monstrous breathing.

 **“TRAITOR, TRAITOR, TRAITOR,”** he snarled, ink bubbling in his mouth.

“Oh, stars,” gasped Marina, shuddering, “he’s going to kill us.”

Alice gazed at the ceiling and released her grasp on Marina’s cart. The mermaid noticed and stared at the angel with doubt. “Alice?”

Alice closed her eyes and small tears dropped to the floor. Her lips made a thin line as she made the most difficult decision.

“We need to split up, Marina,” she said, quietly. “If we stick together, Bendy will find us easily.”

Marina gasped. “No! If we stay together, we can protect each other!”

“Yeah, but if you hide, then you won’t have to worry about hauling yourself everywhere if he chases you!” argued Alice. “I need to get the remaining staff out of here.”

Marina grabbed Alice’s hand and held it close to her face. “Please, Alice. We need to stay together. It’s safer in numbers.”

Alice leaned down to Marina’s height and gazed into her eyes. Their tears mixed into the ink in the container as they held onto each other like life rings in a wild sea.

“I still love you,” whispered Alice, touching her forehead with Marina’s. “I want you to be safe.”

“I’ll always love you, Alice,” sobbed Marina, “but if you get the chance, please, please, _please_ come back.” She lifted up her pinky finger. “P-Promise?”

Without hesitation, Alice locked her finger onto Marina’s. The two smiled through their tears.

“Promise.”

Alice held Marina’s cheeks and kissed her lips. It was bittersweet and would forever linger in their minds.

After what felt like a lifetime but was only a few seconds, Alice drifted away from the kiss and opened the door. With a melancholic smile, the angel was swallowed into the darkness, leaving Marina alone in the entrance of the music department.

Marina then wailed silently to herself, knowing that Alice had a low chance of making it out alive from Bendy’s wrath.

And his wrath could not tell the difference between innocent and guilty.

* * *

 

Boris woke up with a start, shivering in the cold. He jumped to his feet and scanned the area, alert and fearful for his life. He didn’t know why, but he got the feeling that he had to be up on his toes in case _something_ appeared.

He vaguely remembered what happened; Joey said he had a “treat” for him and then strapped him to a table on a slant. Next thing he knew, there was nothing.

He felt for his beating heart and was thankful that he woke up. He stared at the ink puddle beside him, his eyes following the abnormal opening in the ceiling. He could see a beam of light that flickered on and off above.

He also heard voices.

“Get out of here. He’s gone crazy!” demanded a voice. "I already heard him cause a ruckus below."

“Crazy? I wonder why, Drew!” yelled a usually cheerful one.

“Just listen to me for once, Susie! Get out or you’re gonna be dead in the next minute!”

There was a round of silence, but was thrown down by a garbled roar in the distance. The lights flickered on and off above. Boris held his bushy tail out of fright.

“Hear that? He’s on a killing spree, Susie,” uttered Joey.

“I know that, but what about Boris and Alice and Marina?” hissed Susie. “We need to get them out of here, too. They're just as important as us.”

“I’m not gonna let them wander around the damn city! They’ll have to fend for themselves,” growled Joey.

Boris felt an arrow pierce his heart. Joey _really_ didn’t care about them now, did he? He recalled of when he did, but that was in the past, and the past was gone.

But emotions be damned! Boris needed to find out _who_ or _what_ was coming after Joey and Susie.

There were several, fast clicks of heels. “Fine, Drew. Do whatever you want. If you want to become a victim to Bendy, then so be it. Just know that _you’re_ the one at fault here.” She harrumphed. “This would have _never_ happened if Henry was still here.”

More silence. To catch the scene that would soon unfold, Boris snuck a chair over to the wall and stood on it. He peeked through the opening and saw the lower half of Joey’s body. Susie was gone, avoiding the trouble that was now stomping up the stairs to the right.

Boris’ heart skipped a beat.

“B-Bendy?” he muttered, horrified.

The monster slammed its inky, colossal fists to the ground. Its entire face was covered with the oozing substance except for the wicked grin that was spread across its face. Its horns were long and jagged, dripping large amounts of ink. It dragged its body closer to Joey, breathing heavily.

 **“WHAT DID YOU _DO_ TO ME, JOEY?” ** snapped the beast, snatching Joey’s ankle, staining his khakis with ink. It pulled him forward, throwing him on his back. Boris could see Joey’s graying, curly hair and wrinkled neck.

“Bendy, I-I-” stammered Joey.

The gruesome Bendy pointed his thick finger at the table above Boris. **“WHAT DID YOU DO TO** **_HIM?”_ **

Joey pried the black fingers off of him. “Bendy, c-calm down! We were just...experimenting.”

 **“EXPERIMENTIN'? EXPERIMENTIN' ON MY** ** _FRIEND?”_** spoke Bendy, his voice rising. **“THEN I’VE GOT AN IDEA!”** He laughed hysterically. **“I’LL EXPERIMENT, TOO. I’LL KILL** ** _YOU._**

**"I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”**

Joey ran to the left hallway. Without needing to see his face, Boris could feel his terror. Bendy growled and coughed up more ink. He roared and chased after him.

Boris stumbled off of the chair and clutched his face. There was no way that was Bendy. That couldn’t have been him. His best pal was certainly a lot smaller and more friendly than that hellish creature.

But saying his friend was dead? Who was he talking about?

Oh, God.

The realization settled in.

Boris _died._ By _Joey._

That “sleep” he was in, that was no nap.

That was _death._

And Bendy, now transformed with indignation, was out to avenge him.

Boris hurried out of the room and into the hallway. He couldn’t tell where he was in the dim lighting, but he _would_ find a way.

He came across the wide orchestra room with several instruments scattered about. He ignored their presence and continued on through the winding hallways and cluttered spaces.

More of the rooms shook as Bendy raged above. Ink had already seeped through and decorated the walls. Boris held back his tears and kept moving.

After minutes of running about like a lost dog, Boris came to the exit of the music department. In the dark, he heard whimpering of a new being. As the lights flickered on and off, he could make out a glass tank with a fish-like tail in it.

He didn’t have to make any more connections to realize who it was.

“Marina!” exclaimed Boris.

Marina looked up from her sobbing and her face instantly brightened. “Boris!”

The wolf ran towards the mermaid and embraced, but another round of shaking and a screaming Bendy made them depart.

Marina gazed at the ceiling and then at Boris. “I’m not going to ask how the hell you’re alive. We need to get going _now!”_

“Couldn’t agree more!” said Boris. He snatched Marina’s tank and headed for the exit.

They were brought back into the fading light of the main hallway. They were about to head up the stairs, until Boris froze. Marina stared at him and slapped the side of her tank.

“What are you doing? We have to move!” she demanded.

“Shh,” commanded Boris, raising a finger to his lips.

The cartoons felt a rumble throughout the hallway. They heard the harsh hiss of the thing that had been wrecking the entire studio.

Ink slithered down the steps and to Boris’ feet. He slowly pivoted Marina back towards the door.

And then, _he_ came.

_(Play music now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg_kcK6o-5U)_

A giant hand slammed into the wall. His face appeared from the corner, hiding his once-cheerful eyes. He giggled to himself and stared Boris straight in the eye, blinded by his rage to see who he was.

 **“JOEY?”** asked the monstrosity. His chuckles morphed into muddled howls of laughter. He flew down the stairs and into the wall. Boris shrieked and pushed Marina back into the music department.

“That ain’t no Bendy!” he shouted.

“Yeah, no kidding!” replied Marina.

As Boris ran, Marina looked behind her, watching Bendy burst through and roar. He picked up his pace and was on the hunt to kill them.

Marina screamed and hit the bars holding the handle. “Boris, pick up your pace!”

“That’s what I’m tryin’ to do!” he shouted.

 **“JOEY, JOEY, JOEY!”**  rumbled Bendy.

Boris darted through the main room of the music department and into another hallway. Bendy kept chasing, his deafening cries mixing in with his laughter. Boris took sharp corners, Bendy hitting the walls and spraying his thick ink everywhere. He screamed through his teeth and continued running after them.

As Boris pushed the cart, Marina spotted a broken wooden plank close to her. She plucked it off the ground and squeezed one eye shut, focusing her aim on the chaotic Bendy. She grunted and threw the board into the air, slapping Bendy in the face.

"Sorry, Bendy," she muttered.

Bendy paused and made an irritated, unknown noise. Another round of roars and the cat-and-mice chase pursued. He tried to take a swipe at Boris' feet, but he jumped just in the nick of time. Bendy kept trying to reach for his ankles, but failed every time.

It was a deadly game of jump rope, and if you lost, you would die by the hands of your best friend who couldn't tell who was the traitor or not.

“He doesn’t even know it’s you!” declared Marina. "Hitting him with wooden boards doesn't seem to be working either!"

“I ain’t gonna try to even talk to him. He’s gonna kill us!” yelled Boris.

Marina turned her head back to the front. She pointed at a door with a sign reading "S3 Vault" above it at the end of the hallway. “There! Get in there!”

“Y-Yes ma’am!”

Boris used all of his strength and rushed Marina through the door. He released the handle and barred the door. Bendy’s jumbled growls echoed behind him and he slammed on the door, shaking it. Knowing his prey had fled, his resounding footsteps faded away to find his other victim. Boris caught his breath and collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest.

Marina stopped the cart before it crashed into the ink-stained walls. Black tears pooled out of her eyes. She caressed her neck and tilted her head down, gulping the air.

“A-Alice…” she whispered, hoarsely. “Sh-She’s not going to make it out alive.”

Boris glanced at the mermaid and bit the inside of his cheek. He walked over to Marina and pulled her into a hug. She cried quietly in his arms, covering her eyes, staining her hands with ink.

“Sh-She’s gone, Boris,” quaked Marina. She looked at the wolf. “Sh-She’s gone!”

“Shh, she’s not dead,” soothed Boris. “I’m sure she’s okay. Sh-She prob’ly found a place to hide before…” His stare fell on the barred door. “‘Fore _that_ happened.”

Without notice, Boris let his hands fall from Marina. He stared at the door, his vision replaying the recent events right in front of him.

 

**_“WHAT DID YOU TO DO ME, JOEY?”_ **

_“B-Bendy, I-”_

**_“WHAT DID YOU DO TO_ HIM?” **

_“Bendy, c-calm down! We were just...experimenting-”_

**_“EXPERIMENTIN'? EXPERIMENTIN' ON MY FRIEND?”_ **

**_“I’LL KILL YOU. I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”_ **

 

Boris shook himself out of his unfortunate memory and faced Marina, her expression now full of shock and her tears dried.

“There’s no way that’s Bendy,” she remarked, pointing accusingly at the door. A single ink droplet fell from her index finger. Her hand slowly dropped back into the black liquid beneath her. “That’s-that’s not possible, right?”

“I wish I knew,” replied Boris, voice devoid of life. He leaned against the wall and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. “I-I don’t even remember how it happened. It was a-a...blur.”

“He thinks you’re _dead,_ Boris,” said Marina. “Hell, we _all_ thought you were dead.”

Boris gazed at his gloved hands, he too, amazed how he survived Joey’s inspection. He sighed, his arms limp. “Ya don’t know how bad I wanna comfort Bendy, b-but-”

“He’ll kill you if you try to get close to him,” finished Marina. She plucked the bobby pin holding the curl in her hair and dropped it into her tank. A white strand of hair bounced about and then settled. “I guess it’s alright to hide for a while, but we _have_ to calm him down sooner or later.”

“L-Look, I think it’s safer if we just stay here for a while. We’re good...for now.”

“For _now._ What about Alice? What about the rest of the crew? They might be in here and _dying_ to Bendy.”

Boris grabbed his ears and pulled them down, clearly stressed. “I dunno, Marina! You, Alice, and I might be the only ones in control in the @%$^ place. Who knows!”

Marina held her stare. Boris watched the sweet, mysterious atmosphere fade from her eyes. Instead, coldness and a slimmer of regret replaced it. She averted her gaze and gripped the edges of the tank.

“If I had legs, you know I’d go confront him,” she commented, darkly.

“Yeah, I know that,” answered Boris, “but we got no Joey, no reference sheet,and no…no Henry…”

Marina’s eyes widened and she gasped, covering her mouth. “Oh no, you don’t think if-if _Henry_ came back...you don’t think Bendy would _attack_ him, right?”

Boris looked at Marina with the same amount of fear. He hopped to his feet and started pacing around. He found a can of bacon soup and opened it. He gulped down part of it and wiped his mouth.

“What are you doing?” asked Marina, fear still on her face.

“Stress eatin’!” replied Boris.

“Eating that expired stuff?”

“Yes!”

Marina growled and dipped her whole face into the water. She popped back out, watery ink rivering down her cheeks. “Look Boris, I’m just as puzzled as you with what happened with Bendy, but-but you need to show him that you aren’t dead! I highly doubt Henry will _ever_ come back, but think about it; he _could._ Joey’s still alive. He might ask for his help about this...situation sooner or later.”

Disturbing the conversation, a thundering rumble shook the room. The two cartoons gasped and shrunk in on themselves. The lights flickered in the room, a sense of paranormal activity falling on it. Boris cowered against the wall, his tail in between his legs. Marina dug her nails into the bottom of her tank, biting her lip.

Then, the grumble stopped.

Marina and Boris glanced at each other, disturbed. “What the !@$@ was that?” asked the mermaid, her curse replaced with a bicycle ring. The damn sound effect wasn’t helping the situation.

Boris slowly stood up, his legs quivering. “The machine’s down.”

“What?”

“The machine. I-It’s down. It runs this entire place. It just went out.” He ran to the door and placed an ear on it. He withdrew from it, eyebrows furrowed in fear. “Bendy...he ain’t out here. I don’t hear ‘im.”

Marina covered her mouth. “No.” She placed her hands on her heart. “Then, that can only mean one thing.”

“What?” asked Boris, turning back around.

Marina stared at the door, swallowing hard. “Joey must have trapped him.”

Boris, confused, glanced at the door, and then at Marina. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“You can put ink in the machine. If it’s not on, then nothing can come out,” explained Marina, unemotional. “Joey must have thrown Bendy into the machine and turned it off. Turning it back on is a hassle, so he can't get out.”

Boris processed the theory in his head. There was nothing else to assume, but jumping to conclusions like that? Yes, Marina Mermaid was an intelligent and intellectual toon, but there were so many possibilities; Bendy could have turned off the machine, he could have just left the lower floor they were in, or…

Joey Drew could have indeed trapped Bendy in the ink machine to stop any harm.

Boris trusted Marina’s theory, but he refused to believe it. “I-I guess so, but I don’t wanna go up there to find out.”

The room fell silent. Marina gazed into the ink and made ripples in it with her fingers. Suddenly, she spoke in a hushed voice.

“Can we become that?”

Boris rose his eyebrows and tilted his head. “What do ya mean, Marina?”

“Can we become...monsters, too?” she repeated.

Boris opened his mouth to speak, but could not find the words. There had to be something behind Bendy’s demonic transformation. There _had_ to.

Could it be anger and woe? Boris watched the little devil stomp towards Joey in his monstrous form that was now lingering upstairs with his own eyes. The poor thing was couldn't comprehend that Boris was dead and that Joey betrayed him.

Bendy was losing grip on his own morality, and thus became the creature that-hopefully-was in the ink machine’s grasp.

Boris finally spoke. “We-We just gotta stay calm.”

Marina gingerly nodded her head and flopped her tail out of her tank. Her white hair floated above the liquid, swirling and twirling around each other. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Stay safe, Alice,” she said, softly.

* * *

 

“Hello? Someone there?” He clenched his ink-stained fists, ready for a fight if it came to that. He watched the can of bacon soup roll across the floor and frowned. “I know you’re in here. Come out and show yourself.”

Boris and Marina looked at each other, anxiously. Marina sighed and nodded her head. Boris inhaled deeply and pushed the cart out into the light. The toons looked at the person in front of them, and their eyes instantly lit up with surprise and glee.

And so did he.

“Boris? Marina?” he asked, baffled.

Marina squealed in delight and wheeled over to the old man. She pulled him into a loving hug. He returned the gesture, still in shock that the toons were down here and _not_ killing him.

“It’s so good to see you again, Henry,” smiled Marina. She departed from the hug and took a good look at him.

Henry had aged within those 30 years; his face had several crinkles near the ends of his eyes, his forehead, and the corners of his mouth. The edges of his hair had turned grey, but he still managed to keep the sleek blackness of it. The squareness of his figure had stayed the same, yet he hunched over slightly, but as proven with the ink on his clothes and axe, it didn’t stop him from beating up baddies.

“Good to see you too, Marina,” said Henry, warmly. He gazed at Boris and held out his arms.

Without exchanging words, Boris leapt into Henry's hug.

It was absolutely curious; Henry never thought he would be relieved to see his old cartoons hug him.

If only Bendy was the same way.

If only...

**Author's Note:**

> Some of the details thrown in here were inspired by this great person, especially when the toons curse! Be sure to check them out:  
> *whatisthisnonsense.tumblr.com (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE GO CHECK OUT THE BATIM FAN FICS THEY GIVE YOU LIFE)


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